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About this quote

What does it mean?
Hawking expresses skepticism about quantum mechanics thought experiments like Schrodinger's cat.
In plain terms
He finds the idea of a cat being dead and alive at once too absurd to take seriously.
What can you take from it?
Scientific concepts should align with observable reality.

Where it applies

  • physics discussions
  • quantum debates
  • science education

Putting it to work

  • critique thought experiments
  • question quantum interpretations

Questions to consider

  • What limits should we place on theoretical physics?
  • How do we interpret paradoxes?

Another view

It dismisses a useful metaphor for quantum superposition.

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  3. We could call order by the name of God, but it would be an impersonal God. There's not much personal about the laws of physics.

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